Feel free to disregard, just an angry and frustrated rant

Feel free to disregard, just an angry and frustrated rant

“From my perspective, folk who are trying to position themselves in the middle seem to be sometimes doing so in an effort to keep themselves “clean” and removed from the struggle. When you’re actually trying to do something about the situation (as I and other folk in the renewal groups are), hopefully with some level of integrity, it’s frustrating to constantly have verbal grenades launched at you.”

This was from a discussion about what the caucuses (read extremes) are doing in the UMC. It has me pretty ticked off really. Who said it and what “side” they are on does not matter in the least, what does matter is this. Those of us in the middle are trying to do something, it’s called keeping our church together while the extremes tear it apart. We are not keeping ourselves ‘clean’ we are dirtier than most because we get the poo thrown at us from both sides. If you need an example of this, watch gorillas. They do this to those in the middle too. Verbal grenades? Really? We in the middle get them from both sides too. A lot of us are not as smart as the extremists, but there are a lot more of us, and by the time they have finished pushing us out they can have their way…one will win and one will lose, and there will be lots of church buildings…most empty because the middle you seem to despise so much left the building.

4 Replies to “Feel free to disregard, just an angry and frustrated rant”

“in the renewal groups are”… “what the caucuses (read extremes) are doing in the UMC”… Being new to UMC, I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. The “related” info is no help either. Is there clandestine meetings and groups running around in the halls of UMC churches that I am not aware of? Or are you just talking about internet chatter, which no one in their right mind would pay attention to seriously (sorry, but the internet is not the real world)? Actually, I am serious. Is this a real UMC issue? If so, where is the info you are talking about.

Yes this is a real issue. There are several caucuses in the UMC that regularly meet and try to push for what they see as “right”. These exist on both the ‘left’ (http://www.rmnetwork.org/http://mfsaweb.org/ to name two of the larger and more vocal) and on the ‘right’ (http://www.confessingumc.org/http://goodnewsmag.org/ to name two of the larger and more vocal). These groups raise significant funds for themselves and are responsible for many of the news stories that you see regarding the current homosexuality debate. It is more than internet chatter. They are not really clandestine, but they are entrenched and unwilling to accept anything except capitulation from the other side. The recent buzz about schism has been started it seems by the conservative groups, as an attempt to remind everyone that they have the most resources and that if they don’t get their way, they will leave. Both sides also regularly engage in unkind language in describing the other side and try to force everyone to choose a side in the fight rather than try to work together for any sort of unity. In case I have not been clear, no matter the side of the discussion I am on, what both sides are doing via these essentially Christian super PACs is a big, and perhaps the largest part, that is damaging the church.

Interesting. But for me, I still consider this as internet chatter. I didn’t know there was quite this much internet chatter. But for me, the litmus test for concern (that is, putting my walking shoes on, and hitting the road), is when this stuff starts leaking into sermons on Sunday. Or organized group activities of the church I attend. What happens at the top nationally, does not effect me until it hits the sermon on Sunday. Let me say though, I have no problem attending a “free thinkers meeting” locally, and hearing people discuss issues both left and right. Opinions are opinions. But when I see the same sort of politics show up officially in sermons or “official positions” of the church I attend, then I have a problem with it. I saw this “political” activity at my old church (right wing), so I left. Now, if I saw this show up as left wing, I honestly do not know what I would do. But it is better to keep politics out of Sunday, or at least some people are going to be ticked off on either side.